NJ Man Sues Feds for Right To Sell His Organs
John Bellocchio is looking to sell some of his possessions, which happen to be his organs. In early April, Bellocchio filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland for the legal right to sell his organs.
The Oakland, New Jersey, resident said he discovered it is illegal to sell his organs when he tried to do so to raise some fast cash.
In court documents, Bellocchio said he has struggled with his finances for many years and that the idea to sell an organ came to him during business trips around Appalachia. He said he discovered deep pockets of poverty there and concluded that people in need might get money to help them via selling organs.
However, the 1984 National Organ Transplant Act makes the sale of organs illegal. Selling organs in the U.S. is punishable by up to five years jail time and a fine of $50,000.
Currently, the only country where organ sales are legal is Iran. The Iranian government purchases organs from sellers, who earn a profit from the sale. Then, within an organ exchange system, the government regulates the sale of the organ to a recipient in need of a transplant. About 1,400 Iranians sell their organs annually.
In 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in California ruled that the federal ban against organ sales could not stop anyone from selling bone marrow, the vital tissue needed in transplants by patients treated for leukemia and other severe conditions.
Bellocchio disagrees with the law and says in court papers that if current laws are changed, many people on the national organ transplant list might avoid death.
In court documents, he notes, "According to the American Transplant Foundation, almost 114,000 people in the United States are currently on the waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant, and another name is added to this national transplant waiting list every 10 minutes. Many die before their names are called."
After Bellocchio filed his lawsuit in Manhattan, his attorney Matthew Haicken said his client would be happy to sell his kidney if it were legal.
Haicken said he believes "the current law is unconstitutional. People should have the right to do with their body whatever they want."
Bellocchio shared his story publicly in the press, saying he believes the law is unconstitutional and has the right to determine what to do with his property, including his organs.
He believes, he said, "there is no valid constitutional or public policy rationale why one should not be able to receive a profit from such a transaction."
In his lawsuit, he compares selling an organ to that of others who legally sell sperm, blood plasma, and eggs, as well as women who are surrogates and carry babies for a price.
